25 July, 2011

Monday's Measurements

We've done not too badly at all this week. Had a a couple of wobbly moments, But that's normail in any diet.

Today's weigh in was:
Catherine 114.9 (-2)
Frazer 110.0 (-1.6)

Not bad for the first week. Long may the good work continue!


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17 July, 2011

Sunday Scales

Right, due to the gall bladder problem I have to have a fat free diet, so we have decided to make the most of it and go on a serious diet, as both of us have a few stone to lose. We have joined the gym at Peebles Hydro and plan to go at least twice a week and once at the weekend. We have also set a challenge that whoever loses the most weight in the first month is treated to a nice meal (but still diet friendly) by the other. Neither of us are any good at diets on our own, so the competition will help us.

So, the first weigh in was today on a brand new set of scales.

Me - 173cm tall and 116.9 kg
Frazer - 175cm tall and 111.6kg

My goal is to be a size 16 by the time my best mate gets married next year. Let the competition begin :-)


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16 July, 2011

Journey Home

I woke up on Wednesday morning with terrible stomach pains - they eventually went away with the help of painkillers and Gaviscon, but I didn't get any more sleep.

We got up at 6am, and left at 7am for Carcassonne to get our lane home. The kids had been given the choice of coming in the car or staying in bed...guess which option they chose!!

We both snoozed a bit in the car - great travelling companions for my mum! We got to Carcassonne with time to spare, we had checked in online but still had to join a massive queue to get our hand baggage weighed! Some woman tried to barge in front of us, and Frazer said no to her, but she barged in anyway! The Ryanair woman told her not to barge in, she told her she'd asked us, and Frazer agreed that she had, but he'd said no - she was then told to join the back of the queue like everyone else! The Ryanair woman was quite impressed with Frazer and told him that what he'd said was "almost french" - high praise indeed!

Anyway, we got through to the waiting room bit, sat there for about half an hour and no one seemed to know what was going on. Eventually someone said that the flight had been diverted - one of the passengers that is, not one of the Ryanair staff - so Frazer went to see if he could find out what was happening. Apparently the tannoy was only working at one end of the airport - it turned out that our plane had been diverted to Perpignan due to bad weather, and so had the next one. The weather was cloudy and a bit rainy, but not worth divting a plane for, and we'd just watched another plane take off for East Midlands, so it can't have been that bad. We were all herded outside, but still no one told us what was happening, so I went to find a Ryanair official who confirmed that our plane had been diverted so we were all being bussed down to Perpignan - a 2hr journey - to catch our plane. We were starving so I got some cash out of the machine as I'd given the rest of my euros to my mum, and we went and got a ham baguette which was deadly boring but marginally edible! We were eventually told over the tannoy that our bus would arrive at 11am, but at no point at all did any Ryanair official tell us anything directly apart from when I actually asked them. The bus eventually arrived at 11.30, it was almost 12 by the time we left after all the farting about getting on the buses. We were packed in like sardines, and managed to snooze listening to Pink Floyd on the iPad. Perpignan was hot and windy, the airport was a bit crap, there were no lights in the toilet, and again, no Ryanair officials to tell us what was happening. Eventually they told us on the tannoy when our plane was leaving, so we sat down at the cafe to have a drink. There were tons of flies, so we ended up outside having a cigarette. By the time we boarded the plane we were frazzled to say the least! Thank goodness they didn't play the lirrle fanfare at the end of the flight otherwise there might have been a mutiny aboard!

Although we eventually got home safe and sound, the service we received from Ryanair was nothing short of shocking. The flights weren't particularly cheap, but even if they had been I would still have expected some sort of customer service but there was none. To put it in a nutshell, Ryanair will certainly not have our custom again.

Once we landed at Prestwick we got a taxi back to Lyndsey's to pick up the car, then went to pick up the cat. Bloody mad cat woman had a moan because we were about ten minutes late, tried to charge me again until she realised I actually had paid when I dropeed him off, and eventually gave me the cat! He was very cross with us, and miaowed and yowled ALL the way home - all 2 hours of the journey! We got home, had a struggle lighting the aga, had a pizza for dinner from Francos in Peebles, and went to bed!

We had a fantastic holiday, despite the shitty journey home, but it is always nice to come home. We had a couple of days at work before the weekend, so we're having a good chillout today, groceries and a car boot tomorrow, and then back into the regular, normal routine on Monday. Next up is the gallbladder operation - just waiting to find out when. Watch this space!


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11 July, 2011

It's all going swimmingly :-)

We just tried frogs legs for the first time! Frazer and my nephew were desperate to try them, so we bought some, cooked them, and I have no idea what all the fuss is about! The texture was a lot like chicken, but they were pretty tasteless! My mum and Isla really didn't like them, but Frazer, my dad and my nephew really did. I didn't mind them, but I certainly wouldn't bother again.We've had a lovely day today all in the swimming pool playing with a beach ball and swimming some lengths. It's the last day of sunshine before we go home so we thought we'd all make the most of it. I need to make sure the tan is top notch before going home too!

We got back from the mountains on Saturday evening and webhad a lovely time. When we got to St Lary Soulan there was a night market in the town and there was a lovely atmosphere. We had dinner at one of the pizzerias, had a wander around the market and then went back to the hotel. On the Thursday we decided to go across to Spain for the afternoon. It was a bit overcast, but the views were still stunning. We had lunch in Spain, bought my mum some cigarettes and my dad a monster bottle of Glenfiddich and then headed back into France. When we came through the tunnel though, the clouds had come down and we emerged into deep fog. Not fun when you're negotiating hairpin bends on the side of a mountain! We got back to St Lary and went out to look for a nice restaurant. We found a so-called Irish pub and had steak and chips and a litre of wine each and had a really lovely evening...at least until we got back to the hotel and my dinner decided to make a reappearance! Friday, by necessity, was a very gentle day! We had a lovely stroll around St Lary and just chilled out all day. We went to Carrefour and bought some bits and pieces and spent the evening watching rubbish on youtube - it was really nice actually.
Saturday was our last day away by ourselves, so after we checked out of the hotel, we went across to the Spa pool and spent an hour or so in there. It was really cool...they've made it all cave like in there and there were bits with jacuzzis, waterfalls and a sauna and steam room. We came out feeling brand new! We went back to the pizzeria we went to on the first night for lunch, and then we went up on the cable car. That was a white knuckle experience! It was cool, and I was determined that I wanted to do it, but it was still quite scary. Frazer took some video of us going up, and kept panning round to show my scared face - ratbag! It was all worth it when we got to the top - the view was stunning...it felt like being on top of the world! We had a nice walk around the deserted ski resort, had a drink at the only open bar, and then went back to the cable car for the descent, which was scarier than the ascent. I'm really glad I did it because the view from the top was so outstanding, but it was a tad scary!
After that we headed back home. Frazer got himself all comfy with a pillow and his feet up on the dashboard while I drove! He's a useless travelling companion as he's like a child...the car makes him fall asleep! Got back and had dinner and then an early night because I was shattered!

Sunday was a bit of a wasted day, as the excesses of our few days away caught up with me, and I spent most of the day in bed with a very sore stomach. I'm going to have to be good and self disciplined from now on unfortunately. I did revive myself enough, however, for Frazer and I to give my mum and dad another good thrashing at Trivial Pursuit in the evening :-)

Which brings us back to today...lazy day by the pool and in the pool, playing and topping up the tan, trying frogs legs, blogging by the pool, and then we're out for a barbecue at Matthew's this evening which will be nice.

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05 July, 2011

60 Questions People Dont Ask Survey

When's the last time you ran? - Can't remember!
Do your jeans have rips, tears, and holes in them? - No, and when they do, they get thrown away or cut down to shorts.
What are you dreading right now? - An operation to remove my gallbladder.
Do you celebrate 420? - Dunno what 420 is so no.
Do you get the full 8 hours of sleep a night? - Normally.
If anyone came to your house on your "lazy days" what would ya'll do? - Sit them down, have a chat, and watch rubbish together.
Who last grabbed your ass? - Frazer probably!
Have you ever been on your school's track team? - No, swimming team though.
Do you own a pair of Converse? - Nope.
Did you copy and paste this survey? - Nope.
Do you eat raw cookie dough? - Oooh yes!
Have you ever kicked a vending machine? - No.
Don't you hate it when the radio ruins good songs by playing them over and over? - Yes
Do you watch Trading Spaces? - No
How do you eat oreos? - Take them apart and lick the creamy bit off first!
Have you ever stayed online for a very long time waiting for someone? - Yes, but don't have to any more as we live together now.
Are you cocky? - Can be
Could you live without a computer? - No!!!!
Do you wear your shoes in the house? - Yes
Who or what sleeps with you? - Frazer
At what age did you find out that Santa wasn't real? - About 6/7
How many phones, house phones and cell phones are in your house? - 6
What do you do when you're sad? - Mope about
Who would you call first if you won the lottery? - My mum!
Last time you saw your best friend? - Last week
Are you in high school? - No
What jewelry are you wearing? - None
Is anyone on your bad side now? - No one out of the ordinary! How's that for diplomatic?!
What's the first thing you do when you get online? - Check facebook!
Do you watch Grey's Anatomy? - No
How do most people spell your name? - In an intesting variety of ways!
Would you wear a boy/girlfriends clothes? - Yes
Where do you work? - In a banking office
What are you doing tomorrow? - Going to the Pyrenees
Is Justin Timberlake becoming the next Michael Jackson? - Dunno
Favorite name for a girl? - Arya
Favorite name for a boy? - James
Will you keep your last name when you get married? - No, probably not - if we do get married
When was the last time you left your house? - Last Tuesday
Do you return your cart? - Nope, I have a 12 yr old to do that!
Do you have a dishwasher? - Yes
What noise do you hear? - Frazer snoring next to me :-)
Would you survive in prison? - Probably
Who is the youngest in your family? - Only child :-)
If all of your friends were going on a road trip, who would most likey overpack? - Me probably!
Do you know anyone with the same name as you? - My ex step sister in law had exactly the same name as me but it was spelt a little differently
What's the last thing you purchased? - Cigarettes yesterday - last big purchase though was an iPad
Do your siblings ever pay for stuff for you? - N/A
What brand are your pants right now? - Ummm, Carrefour!!
Ever been to Georgia (the state)? - No
What irritates you most on the internet? - Adverts
What brand is your digital camera? - Olympus
Do you watch movies with your parents? - Yes
What song best describes your life right now? - The Lazy Song is how I would LIKE my life to be right now!
Do you own expensive perfume/cologne? - Yes, but not too expensive
Are you taking college classes right now? - No
Do you like sushi? - No, I hate fish
Do you get your hair cut every month? - No
Do you go online everyday? - Yes
Will you pass this survey on to 5 people? - Probably not

Take This Survey at Quizopolis.com
http://www.quizopolis.com/survey/4725/60-Questions-People-Dont-Ask-Survey/


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Back to France

We're on our holidays! They let me out of hospital on Monday and we set off on Tuesday! We were flying from Prestwick, so it was a crappy drive across there, we dropped the cat at the cattery, and then spent the night with a friend in Irvine. We collected my nephew from his mum, and we all had a great evening playing a game like Guitar Hero on the PS3 - it wasn't Guitar Hero, it was a Lego game which included guitar, drums and singing - Lyndsey and I did the singing - we were amazing!!

We got a taxi to the airport at the crack of dawn on Wednesday and we flew Ryanair - never again! We only brought hand baggage because they charge you £40 to put a suitcase in the hold! And, what's more, they've started to weigh your hand baggage! Mine was over weight, so after an argument with the officious wee eejit, and a little reshuffling we we fine! We sat the kids together in front of us because I had put a couple of movies on Isla's iPod Touch for them to watch, and we sat right behind. No leg space at all! I had never flown Ryanair before, and I won't again! We managed to get comfyish, and sat and watched The Mighty Boosh on the iPad during the flight. It was cool!

We got in at about lunchtime, so went straight to Macdonalds as we were all starving. I had a couple of wraps as I thought they we probably the most fat free, but I suffered terribly in the car from indigestion type pains afterwards. It's just proved to me that no matter how much I fancy something I'm going to have to be really careful from now on and stick to the fat free diet as the doctors said. It won't hurt, and it's pushing us both into dieting, which isn't really a bad thing, it just sucks a little to know that I can't even have a wee treat now and again because I will suffer hugely for it.

Anyway, as soon as we got home (France home I mean) the kids were into the pool! We had a lazy afternoon, with a bit of a snooze and then got up again for dinner. We lasted admirably I thought, considering we had been up at 4.30 that morning! The next couple of days were beautiful so we spent lots of time by the pool, and the kids have hardly been out of it! My mum and dad took the out for the day on Saturday, so we had a really lovely and relaxing day by ourselves in and out of the pool.









On Sunday we had Isla's birthday party with all her French friends, and she had a ball! Even my nephew did well as he managed to get on well with the boys that came with his little bit of French, and their little bit of English! We had a party for grown ups in the evening, and I managed to catch up with all my favourite people, it was great!

Frazer and I took the kids to Accrobranche in Auch yesterday, as it was a bit overcast, and not really pool weather. They really enjoyed it, but I think they wimped out at Level 5! We picked them up, went shopping, came back and made fajitas for dinner, and then wiped the floor with my mum and dad at Trivial Pursuit! Great day!


Frazer and I are off to the mountains for a few days tomorrow which will be lovely. He's suffering a little from overheating at the moment, so the mountains will be a little cooler for him. We're also planning a day of exploring in Spain just over the border, so looking forward to that.

Will let you know how it goes :-)

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